The program is designed to provide a strong foundation in all the areas of Business Analytics, while allowing considerable flexibility so that students can tailor the course work and research project individually according to interest or career plans. There are 48 quarter credit hours required in total (beyond any needed courses under Prerequisite Requirements), including 4 quarter credit hours for the Research Project.     

The program consists of three main components:

• Prerequisite Requirements, divided into Mathematics Foundations and Basic Business Knowledge. Depending on your background, you may need to take anywhere from none to all of these courses; you may count all relevant prior undergraduate or graduate courses taken at UC or another university toward meeting these requirements, with the Program Director's approval. The credit hours in these courses do not count toward the quarter 48 quarter credit hours for the MS - Business Analytics Program Requirements themselves. You may take some of these courses concurrently with the Program Requirements after you've been admitted and begun the program; again, this decision is made in consultation with the Program Director.
• Program Requirements, consisting of 28 quarter credit hours (7 courses) of required QA courses, 16 quarter credit hours of Focus-Area Elective courses (chosen in consultation with the Program Director), and 4 quarter credit hours for the Research Project. You may transfer at most four prior graduate-level courses taken as a graduate student at another university, up to a total maximum of 16 UC quarter credits, with the Program Director's approval; a minimum of 45 quarter credits in residence at UC are required. You may use an unlimited number of relevant and appropriate prior graduate-level courses taken as a graduate student at UC (excluding the Research-Project credits) toward the Program Requirements, with the Program Director's approval; students already holding or completing another master's degree at UC need to be aware that a minimum of 90 quarter credits in total across the two master's degree programs are required, and no course can be used to satisfy the requirements of more than one UC program.
• Research Project, counting for 4 quarter credits hours, including a written paper and an open oral presentation/defense.

The UC Graduate Handbook states on p. 38:  "A student must accumulate a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 to obtain a master's degree at the University of Cincinnati.  At least two-thirds of the minimum graduate credits for the degree must be at a level of B or higher."

Each student is responsible for downloading the MS - Business Analytics Program Form, printing it, and filling it in, and then getting the Program Director's initials as courses are completed. When the program is complete (including the Research Project), the Program Director's signature is required.

For information on the current year's schedule of course offerings for the MS - Business Analytics core, popular electives, and Basic Business Knowledge courses, see the Course Scheduling & Planning document.

In addition to the formal coursework above, all students are required to attend an orientation shortly before classes start in September, plus a special non-credit session in the Autumn quarter (typically on a Friday) to learn about the research interests of OBA faculty in preparation for the Research Project. Further, students are invited to (and expected to attend) the OBAIS Department Seminars, as well as the annual Arnoff Lecture.